A Willimantic police officer’s use of deadly force against an ax-wielding man in March was justified, investigators determined.

A report by the state’s Division of Criminal Justice concludes Officer Aaron Brais was defending himself when he fatally shot 57-year-old Daniel Johnston on March 12 and says no further action will be taken by the division in respect to the shooting.

According to the report, prepared by Windham County State’s Attorney Patricia Froehlich, Brais fired three shots into Johnston with his .45-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol while outside the landing of a 461 Main St. apartment. At the time, Brais was brandishing an 18-inch hatchet and carrying a large machete-style knife and two other blades in his belt, the report states.

Officers were called to Johnston’s second-floor apartment after receiving reports of an armed man acting strangely in the building. Upon arriving, officers, with their weapons drawn, knocked on Johnston’s door and identified themselves, the report states.

“No one lives here but the cockroaches,” a male voice, later identified as Johnston’s, responded, according to the report. “If you want me, come and get me. The door is open.”

After moving through a separate exterior stairwell door with a view of the apartment, officers spotted a man in the apartment’s entryway who appeared to be holding an “axe-like weapon,” the report states.

“Without hesitating, the man immediately leaned his shoulders forward and began to charge toward Officer Brais,” according to police. Police said Johnston did not respond to commands to drop his weapon, described as having two sharpened edges. Police said Johnston continued advancing on Brais after being struck by Taser probes.

“Officer Brais feared that if the man reached him he intended to swing or throw the axe and believed that if the man did so, he would be seriously injured, maimed or killed,” according to the report.

After shooting Johnston, Brais called for medical personnel, who transported Johnston to Windham Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:14 p.m. An autopsy found no alcohol or drugs in Johnston’s body.

During a search of Johnston’s apartment, state police detectives found parole paperwork referring to a 1990 incident in which Johnston held two women hostage in New York. The report stated that Johnston was suicidal and “wanted police to shoot him because he couldn’t shoot himself.”

According to Froehlich’s report, Brais “was forced to make a split-second decision and reasonably believed it was necessary to use deadly force” in the incident.